Real Estate Agent · Palo Alto, CA · Member since 2018 · 20 posts · 8 votes
The new Rental Property Calculator on Bigger Pockets is a very stripped down version of the old calculator... anyone else not liking it? Missing lots of graphs, analysis, etc. Is this a permanent thing?
I don't care for it. I must be missing something, as well, as it doesn't seem to calculate certain things properly. e.g. mortgage payment(where is it?) and total monthly cash flow.
Castle Rock, CO · Member since 2015 · 20 posts · 18 votes
6y
They removed so much info - especially in the expenses tab! Before it listed out almost every expense category and you could calculate them by a percentage. Now you have to manually enter every dollar amount AND category (which allows you to miss a lot of expenses). Why would they do that? If feels like it was supposed to go to Beta for testing and someone deployed it by mistake. Glad they still have the old calculator available.
I'm glad @Cam Chan started this thread, because I was about to start one. What's the deal? I don't even see a way to save a pdf. I'm not sure how this calculator is an improvement on the old one and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before the access to the old calculator disappears.
Investor · Tuttle, OK · Member since 2019 · 40 posts · 20 votes
6y
I was loving the simplified faster version of the calculator. It works much better and easier on my phone than the old one did. There is just one problem... None of the calculations are right. The numbers are all off and if you go back and change any of your variables, the results don't change. One property in particular it showed the cash flow and COC Return to be double what it actually was. On all of the ones I tried (about 6) it would not show anywhere near an accurate number for cap rates because you can't even enter the info you need for that calculation.
By all means, give us a simplified version that we can easily use on our phone and make it fast. I love that idea but if the numbers have to be accurate when you launch it. It will be hard to trust it or know when it's actually fixed in the future.
Financial Advisor · Niagara Falls, ON · Member since 2019 · 6 posts · 1 vote
6y
@Jason Turgeon I tested out the calculator you attached and it is great, thank you for that! Do you take the printed report it provides and create your own charts or future equity/cash flow projections?
Realtor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 244 posts · 275 votes
6y
@Cody Weber I mostly just use it to analyze deals and decide if I want to learn more. I don't mess around with future equity/cash flow projections. A deal has to make sense from the very beginning to be interesting to me.
Investor · Londonderry, NH · Member since 2015 · 163 posts · 59 votes
6y
I'm wondering if anyone on the forums has created their own calculator that produces something similar to the old PDF reports. I used those to analyze deals before my first property and they were extremely beneficial. I've been using my own google docs formula but it does not produce the reports I'm looking for. Will search the threads and post a link if I find anything.
Investor · New Iberia, LA · Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 4 votes
6y
Is anyone else still having problems with the new buy and hold calculator? It's not adding expenses properly in the calculation for me. The management fee, vacancy, capex and maintenance costs are not showing up when I print the PDF. The main reason I signed up for pro was for the calculators. Are the old calculators still available? I can't find them.
I'm wondering if anyone on the forums has created their own calculator that produces something similar to the old PDF reports. I used those to analyze deals before my first property and they were extremely beneficial. I've been using my own google docs formula but it does not produce the reports I'm looking for. Will search the threads and post a link if I find anything.
Real Estate Agent · Minneapolis · Member since 2019 · 338 posts · 219 votes
6y
I've poked around the internet extensively looking for a calculator I like but haven't found the perfect one. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Additionally, I'd love to hear what people are looking for in an awesome buy-and-hold calculator? For me, the ability to see how 2% vs 4% rent appreciation and/or 2% vs 4% property appreciation affects my long-term cash flow and equity is key. It may not sound like a big difference, but get to Year 10 and it is a *massive* difference. $3,000 monthly rent appreciating at 2% per year for 10 years turns into $3,656/month or $43,782/year, but 4% rent appreciation turns into $4,440/month or $53,288/year.
A calculator that has the ability to simulate various appreciation scenarios quickly is important to me, and hard to find.
Investor · Tuttle, OK · Member since 2019 · 40 posts · 20 votes
6y
@Tom Wagner I've started using DealCrunch when I want to get really detailed. Again it's not perfect but I'm not looking for perfect. Just something that works. More often than not, I just do a quick and dirty calculation to see if it cash flows (current rent x 0.6 - monthly amortized payment). I created my own MAO calculator in Google sheets specifically for BRRR deals since that's what I do. Since I'm not leaving money in the deals, if I can make it cash flow a minimum amount and my equity is 30% or more, that's all I need to know to go after the deal.